


Both of You

by QueenCelina33



Series: Drowned in Ink AU [7]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Boris is also in there but only for a second, Falling In Love, Heart-to-Heart, Henry is such a sweetheart, Multi, Polyamorous relationship, Polyamory, and he cares about Joey a lot, batim au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-09 23:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17414576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCelina33/pseuds/QueenCelina33
Summary: Joey has been in love with Henry for a hell of a long time. But he knows that Henry is taken. What is he to do when heartache comes to bite him?





	Both of You

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This story has been in the works for a while, and I finally finished it and edited it so I actually like it.  
> Just a note!  
> I do not ship my Henry in an abusive/hurtful relationship of any kind. My Joey is very sweet and has become a very kind person and is not abusive in any way. Other people are free to write their Joey's and Henry's relationships however, just know that my Joey is not mean or crazy anymore.  
> Anyway, this does contain a poly ship and is canon to my AU!  
> Enjoy!

Joey tapped his pencil against the piece of paper on his desk, a deep frown on his face. His green and orange eyes were narrowed and slightly puffy from crying. A few droplets soaked into the wood of his desk as he sat there. 

Joey knew what he had been crying about, there was no denying it at this point. He was in love. Not in love with just anyone though. He was in love with his best friend.

He had known this from his teens. Joey had fallen for a few girls, but he knew he swung both ways sometime after he and Henry had gotten into high school. Henry had always been an attractive man, but it wasn’t just that. Henry was very empathetic, helpful, honest, and just such a good person, and he was always willing to put the happiness of his friends and family as a top priority while still taking care of himself. It was this that had made Joey fall for him during their third year of high school.

Joey had brought home a couple of girls, but they always ended up leaving. Henry was always there when he went through a breakup and he always helped Joey feel better when nothing else could. He could still remember when they had lived in an apartment together for some time. Henry was the best roommate and Joey was glad to have him in his life.

Now, decades later, he had to face his feelings. He had to face the fact that Henry was married and likely didn’t feel the same way about him. Joey sobbed and clutched his chest at this realization, his eyes watering. Henry was already married with an adopted daughter and he was afraid; afraid that if he told Henry his feelings, the man would not want to be his friend anymore. He knew Henry didn’t have a single shred of discrimination inside him, but he was so afraid that he would ruin their friendship. Why? He didn’t know, but it just made him cry harder.

Joey sobbed again and clutched his shirt. His heart ached so badly and he wanted to throw his desk across the room. Why did his emotions have to come out right now? He put his arms on the wood and buried his face in them, sniffling and hiccuping. 

“Joey?”

The studio leader whipped his head up to see his best friend in the doorway. He sniffled again. “Henry?”

Henry stepped inside of Joey’s office, his hands clasped in worry. He tilted his head. “Wally came to me. He said he could hear you sobbing and was worried about you.” He saw the tears on Joey’s face and his concern grew. “Joey… were you crying?”

Joey turned his head away, a hand over his mouth. Damn, that little janitor had the best hearing, even from far away. He was tempted to ask Henry to leave, but he was afraid he might sound angry if he did. “I’m… I was. But… I’m fine, Henry.”

That was a lie if he had ever heard one and Henry stepped up to the desk. He reached across the wood and took a hold of one of Joey’s hands. The green eyed man looked up at him with surprise. “Joey, you’re lying. Something is wrong, and if you need to talk to someone, I’m here.”

Joey blinked more tears out of his eyes, before growling in frustration. His tail, something left over from the Ink Machine Incident, lashed like an angry cat’s. He suddenly ripped his hand away from Henry’s and picked up his desk lamp. He chucked it across the room, making a dent in the wall. 

Henry jumped at the loud bang it caused, but stayed by Joey as he let out a shout.

“WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO WONDERFUL, HENRY?!”

Henry gulped, seeing Joey’s hands beginning to emanate black smoke. He rushed to Joey’s side and put hands on his shoulders, knowing that if he didn’t calm him, he was going to start using his powers and could do something rash. “Joey, Joey, listen to me. Take some breaths, okay? Breathe in… breathe out… in… out…”

Joey did as Henry instructed and was soon calm, his body shaking and his breaths a little uneven. He was obviously still very upset, but at least his powers weren’t fluctuating anymore. When the studio head had calmed for the most part, Henry wiped his eyes with his thumbs. “Joey, please… tell me what’s wrong.”

Joey’s breath hitched as he turned his head away again. He was so very scared, but he felt like he needed to say this now, or he’d never get it out. “Henry… I… I just… I… I’m in love with you.”

Henry’s eyes went wide as he held onto Joey’s hands and watched the man turn to face him again. 

“Henry, I’ve been in love with you for a long time, since we were in high school. I liked a few girls, but you… you stole my heart long ago. Everything about you is wonderful. Your looks, your personality, your ethics; everything. You’ve done so much for me and you make me feel… complete. You’re a beautiful and amazing man, Henry. And…” Joey clutched his shirt, right above his heart. “It hurts. It hurts me to know that you’re already married and that you probably don’t even swing that way. You’ve got a wonderful wife and child and I just--just--” He sniveled. “It hurts my heart so much, Henry. I respect your relationship with Linda… but it hurts so much.” 

Joey looked into those bright blue eyes. “If you don’t want to be my friend anymore, that’s fine. I understand.”

Henry’s chest began to ache at seeing Joey’s saddened face and his eyes full of clear liquid again. He stood there for a few moments, brows knitted in worry. So the rumors were true. Joey had a thing for him. He had heard jokes about how Joey would blush and sputter when talking about him, but now he knew it was true. But… Joey was afraid that he didn’t want to be friends anymore because of this? No wonder he seemed so frustrated. 

Henry quickly took one of Joey’s hands. “Joey, why would I not want to be friends with you? Because you’re in love with me?”

“Yes. I don’t think you swing that way, and I know you’re already taken. I just felt like, if I told you, you’d feel bad about working with me and leave.” Joey sobbed and closed his eyes, leaning back in his wheelchair. “I’m sorry, Henry.”

“Joey… you don’t have to be sorry.” Henry gently squeezed his hand. “Having feelings for a friend is nothing to be ashamed of. Most love stories start out as friendships anyway. And it happens to a lot of people. It’s not going to ruin our relationship, Joey. It’s an understandable thing. Besides, who says I don’t swing that way?”

The studio head’s eyes snapped open and he looked up at Henry. The blue eyed man had the most gentle gaze and his smile was soft. Joey tilted his head. “Wait… what?”

“Would you believe me if I said I have a little crush on you too?”

Joey blinked in surprise. “You do?”

Henry softly nodded. “Yes, I’ve liked you for a long time. Both you and Linda . You both are wonderful, but… at the time, I was afraid of being disowned by my family if I told them I liked boys and girls. I didn’t want them to hate me.” He looked back at Joey. “But, now that we’re older, and we can do what we please… I want to be with you and Linda, both of you.”

Joey looked at Henry with a mixture of amazement and confusion. With both of them? “Henry… would Linda even be okay with that?”

Henry thought for a moment. “...I’ll talk to her tonight. In fact… does Mary-Anne know how to drive?”

“My maid? Yes, she does.”

“Have her bring you to mine and Linda’s house tonight. Come whenever you can. I’ll talk to her and we’ll see what we can work out.” 

*****

Joey pushed the doorbell of the Stein residence, fidgeting with his hands. He was terribly nervous, afraid of what Linda would think of all this. He had seen her fury before, so he was not looking forward what would happen if she was angry.

“Don’t worry so much, Mr. Drew,” Mary-Anne said, standing behind Joey’s wheelchair. She gave him a grin. “I’m sure you and Mr. Stein can work something out.” 

“I know, Mary, I know, but… I’m just so nervous. Linda is a really scary woman when she’s angry.”

Before either of them could say another word, the door opened and there was Henry and Boris. The wolf’s eyes seemed to light up. “Mom!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were comin’ over!”

Henry looked at Boris. “Well, Joey, Linda, and I need to talk about something, so I invited Joey over. Boris, can you be a dear and get everyone out of the living room, please?”

Boris nodded and walked to the living room as Henry gestured for the two to come in. Mary-Anne wheeled Joey into the living room and near the couch, leaving the room when Joey told her he would be fine. He waited a minute or two, looking behind him when he heard footsteps from the staircase. Soon enough, in front of him on the couch were Linda and Henry, holding hands as they looked to the studio head. 

Joey opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped when Henry spoke instead. 

“So, Joey… Linda and I talked when I got home. We talked for a while. We both know that you love me dearly.”

“And you and I both know that I love Henry dearly, too,” Linda added. “And Henry knows that he likes boys and girls. He says it wouldn’t matter to him if either of us were something besides what we are now. And he says that… he’d like to be with both of us.”

Joey raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

Henry chuckled. “We want to be in a relationship with you. We want to have a relationship with all three of us in it.” 

Green and orange eyes went wide. “But… but what would people say?”

Linda smiled softly and took one of Joey’s hands. “Why should we care what people say about us, Joey? We shouldn’t have to be afraid of what others think. As long as we’re all happy, we don’t have to be afraid of anything.”

The words of the Steins whirled around as he thought about what they had said. He would be very happy being with Henry and he respected Linda a great deal. And Linda… she was right. If they were all happy together, why should what other people say matter? It was a silly thing to think that what others thought would change their happiness.

Joey thought for a moment more, before nodding. “I… I think you’re right, Linda.”

Henry smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out something small and shiny. Joey made out that it was a ring, a beautiful gold ring. He watched as Henry took one of his hands and asked, “Joey Drew, will you do us the honors of being our husband and being part of our relationship?”

The studio head smiled, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he nodded and watched Henry slip the ring onto this finger. He pulled back his hand and looked over it, seeing the words, “We Love You” engraved into the ring. He looked to his now spouses and grinned with droplets rolling down his face.

Henry and Linda smiled and stood, Heny walking behind him so he could push his wheelchair. “Now,” he started. “How about we go tell the toons?”

Joey nodded and chuckled. “I’d… I’d like that.”


End file.
